And in



' 106. COMPOSITIONS, ""g m 'c COATING 0R PLASTIC. 9 5 v g '4 93 graphpoles, ship and house-timber can be made durable and proof against decayand water by simply impreghitting the wood with the liquid. v

, As a cementing material in the manufacture of mills'tones,polishing-wheels, whetstoncs, honcs, razor-' straps, scythe-rifles, andgrindstonesl.- For these phrposes it is mixed with powdered frankliniteore, cinder A HONY 'LLFLEURY, OFPHILADELPHI'A, PENNSYLVANIA LettersPatent NaSiLJB E died February 12, 1867:. gmedated December 28, 1866. 4I

IMPROVEMENT INJPREPARING SOLUBLE SILICA, AND Ill APPLYING THE SAME T0USEF 37/,

6/3 9 l PURPOSES. I /;Zt /I I dig: Swan: match it in flnsc itcttrts thanand hurting part of flu same.

TQALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: X

Be it known that I, ANTlIONY L. FLEURY, of the city and county ofPhiladelphia, in the State of Pennsylvnnia, have invented a new andvaluable Improvement in the Process of Dissolving Quartz and SiliciousSubstances. and in using the hydrate of silica in the arts andmanufacture in the way and for the purposes hereafter specified. i 1 v lThe nature of my invention consistsin convertinmsilica of uartz orsilicates such as are found in nature, and such as have been producedartificially, into sulp the o si lcium, y treating them in the way belowmore T 'fully described, with sul hur or compounds of sulphur, and thento treat the sulphide of silicium with water or steam, whereby theshlpli ideds decomposed and the silicium converted into a hydrate ofsilica'S iO HO, which 15 soluble in hot water, and is ready for use inthe-arts and manufacture, as below more fully described.

, The solutions of silica in water, hitherto used in the arts, aremostly combinations of silica with an alkali, such as soda and potassa,and have been called waterglass, which alkaline solutions, when used forpaint or'for' making of artificial stones, are easily decomposed by thecarbonic acid of the atmosphere, and therefore not durable. Thoughseveral remedies have been invented to counteract this evil, such as theuse of chloride of calcium, (in the Ransome process,)'or of hydrofluoricacid, or of other such substances as form with the alkali an insoluble on pound, still there is a yet great want of a neutral solution ofsilica, one that contains no alkali in its composition, and one that maybe called a petrifying liquid, a true solution of opal or flint inwater.

The. liquid that is producd by the decomposition of sulphide of siliciumby water or steam, such as I produce by my improved process, as below.described, contains no alkali, and is therefore lit to housed inpreference to alkaline silicates. The uses to which I put the solutionof silica in water are the following:

1. As a cement for the productiotr of marble, sand-stone, andother hardrefractory concretes. Suitable materials, such as marble dust sandchalk, laster cla. lime &c., are heated and then mixed with thepetrifying liquid, put into the requisite moulds, wlicrem they are leltto dry. rti cial marble busts, statues, graves stones, mantle-pieces,ornaments, &c., as well as building-stones, and columns, and monuments,830., can cheaply be made. They harden when exposed to the atmosphere,and do not crumble down.

2. As water and fire-proof coating for roofs, cellars, basements,vaults, sewers, &c. Shin les, when impregnated with the liquiisilica,become tire and water-proof; the .same takes place with m other porousmaterial. Bricks, heated above the boiling point: of water, and dippedinto the hot solution of silica, become stronger, amact like stone. [J I3. As a. base for the manufacture of re and water-proof paint. Mixedwith'white lead, zinc white bar ta ult-ramarine, oxides, and ve etablecolors :1 er canvas wood and cloth can beWid Fvk an hre-proo iqui si icacan a so e admixed to glue or albumen, to. starch paste, 850., and'usedfor sizing and glazing paper or other textile fabrics.

4. As a. preventive of decay for wood, which becomes rot, fire, andwater-proof. Railroad sleepers, tele from puddling furnaces,pumice-stone, emery, &c.-, moulded, and dried.

I v 6. For embal'rn ingl ea bodies, angli cov ering audpreserving meatfruit vc 'etables, birds, and animals of- I all kindsT Xsa neutralpetrifying liquid it can be injected iii tot e veins of a deadbodyh'fiai'iiili ti'gi 515m," M I whereby, thesilica becoming,insoluble, it prevents decomposition. Eggscovefcd withthe preserved\fql. 1 'ti 751's hriadmixture to coal dust, eat, 850., in themanufacture of artificial fuel,' and as cement in general,

alone or as admixture. This liquid is b etter adapted forthis purpose,because it' does not, like the alkaline solutions, so easily melt whenexposed to high heat. This property makes it also adapted for themanufacture i j of stoves, crucibles, (be. In the manufacture ofporcelain and glass, this hydrated silica solution can be employed inmany ways as lining for oil and alcohol barrels and tanks of any kind,for hardening porous materials, for varnish, &.c., of water pipes madeof wood or paper, for lining of safes.

great 'many more applications might be mentioned; these, however, aresuflieient to show the value .of t a this petrifying liquid inthe artsand manufacture. I will now proceed to describe the processes by whichthi.

hydrated silica is produced.

In order to enable others skilled in the arts to use my invention, andas the invention can he carried on inany glass factory, or be adapted.to wherever in afnrnace a white heat can he produced, I deem it notnecessary to illustrate it by drawings and models. I u

I firstly take: nartz in fine wonder and mix it intimately with gas tar,or any other cheap hydrocarbon, and heat it up to an lite rent, I thenintroduce, into the highly heated quartz, sul hur in a melted eonditio.

T----"*Q"W or as vapor. Il arbonic oxide escapes, while sulphide ofsihcium as a white powder is lormed. This is then poured into boilinwater or treated by steam when the sulphide of siliciuln is decomposed,forming 'with the oxygen of the water $1 1021 S 0", while the hydrogenappropriating the sulphur passes of? as sulphuretted hydrogen. Thesilica, finding no alkali to combine with, takes up someof the Water asits substitute, forming a hydrate of silica soluble in water, which isneutral, and very like the chemical eombinationrof the opal. Othersiliciuln. In short, any sulphur combination that contains no oxygen canbe used for the purpose.

I do not claim the preparation-0t sulphide of siliciurn as it isprepared on a small scale in the laboratory, and as it is described byPelouze and Fremy in their Trait de C'hz'mz'c, volume 1, page 1057, nordo I confine my claim to the process above described; but what I doclaim as my invention, and desire to. secure by Letters Patent, isv rThe process herein described for preparing hydrated silica.

I'also claim, as a new manufacture, hydrated silica, preparedsubstantially as herein described and setforth.

I further claim the improvement herein described in the manufacture ofartificial stone, marble, paints, cements, and the like, substantiallyas described. I i

ANTHONY L. FLEURY.

methods for producing this-liquid quartz can be used; for instance,bisul hide or sul hide of carbon can he t passed into or ever the heatedquartz'or silicates, which also decompose the quartz and iorm sulphide0t

